Guwahati: The Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by the Supreme Court, is on a three-day inspection of at the Vantara Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre in Gujarat’s Jamnagar.
The process that started on Friday is likely to conclude on Sunday.
Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!
Vantara is under the scanner over petitions filed on charges that the Supreme Court on August 25 had termed unsupported.
However, it formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the allegations.
The SIT is helmed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Jasti Chelameswar and also includes retired high court chief justice Raghavendra Chauhan, former Mumbai Police commissioner Hemant Nagrale, and customs official Anish Gupta.
Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!
They have been asked to file their report by September 12.
“The SIT team is presently at Vantara to investigate and prepare the report in a time-bound manner as per the Supreme Court’s instructions. They are here for three days and expected to leave on September 7,” a Gujarat government official in the knowhow said.
The Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT), established to investigate allegations against Reliance-owned Vantara, had held a hearing in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Sources said that during the hearing at the Taj Palace hotel, the SIT listened to allegations from various individuals, including journalists.
The team also accepted documents related to alleged anomalies in the transfer of animals, specifically elephants from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, and seized exotic animals from the Assam State Zoo in Guwahati to Vantara.
The SIT also heard from officials of the Central Zoo Authority and the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest.
Lawyers representing Vantara also deposed before the SIT.
Journalist M. Rajsekhar, who published an investigative report on Vantara in Himal Southasian, and Northeast Now Executive Editor Mahesh Deka also participated in the hearing.
Both journalists raised several allegations regarding the transfer of elephants and submitted supporting documents.
Vantara on the other hand had earlier reiterated the center’s adherence to transparency and animal welfare.
“We acknowledge the order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court with utmost regard,” the spokesperson said.